1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an amnesic sedation pharmaceutical composition having few or no side effects and a method of administering the composition to a subject.
2. General Background
Medications used as sedatives, anesthetics, analgesics and/or amnesics are known. For example, midazolam hydrochloride, a water-soluble benzodiazepine derivative, is an agent for use in conscious sedation of surgical patients and, in some cases, for providing amnesia of the period of the agent's administration. The effect this agent has on the receiving patient includes loss or impairment of recall of any procedure performed during the course of the drug's administration. However, the loss or impairment of recall is not known to affect long term memory.
Adverse reactions to sedatives including midazolam hydrochloride include, but are not limited to, respiratory depression, apnea, respiratory arrest and/or cardiac arrest, sometimes resulting in death. There have also been rare reports of hypotensive episodes requiring treatment during or after diagnostic or surgical manipulations in patients who have received midazolam hydrochloride, for example. Other adverse reactions include nausea, coughing, headache, drowsiness, tenderness, redness, phlebitis and associated allergic reactions.
Nalbuphine hydrochloride is a synthetic narcotic agonist-antagonist analgesic of the phenanthrene series. Adverse reactions to nalbuphine hydrochloride include sweatiness, nausea, dizziness, dry mouth, and headaches. Other adverse reactions that may occur include central nervous system effects, such as nervousness, depression and restlessness and cardiovascular effects such as hypertension and hypotension.
Scopolamine hydrobromide is a pharmacological belladonna alkaloid with anticholinergic properties. It has proven to be a clinically effective agent for the prevention of nausea and vomiting associated with motion sickness in adults, for example. The most frequent adverse reaction to scopolamine hydrobromide is dryness of the mouth. A less frequent adverse reaction is drowsiness. Transient impairment of eye combination, including blurred vision and dilation of the pupils, is also observed.
The infrequent adverse reactions of scopolamine hydrobromide include, but are not limited to, disorientation, memory disturbances, dizziness, restlessness, hallucinations, confusion, and the like. Withdrawal symptoms include dizziness, nausea, headache and disturbances of equilibrium.
The foregoing agents or the families of these agents, taken singularly, all have adverse effects. Therefore, the need exists for an amnesic sedation agent with similar pharmacological properties to these agents, yet has limited or reduced adverse effects.
Accordingly, the present invention provides for an amnesic sedation composition having the beneficial aspects of the foregoing individual agents while limiting their adverse effects.